The Rat Room

You don’t have to be rich to add toys and stimulation to your rat’s play room and cage. It only takes imagination.
Rats love boxes, all kinds, mine especially love the longish soda boxes. They also love toilet tissue tubes, better yet, leave some toilet tissue on the tube, they’ll put it to good use. I’ve given mine ping pong balls from the buck store and more recently, I purchased a container from the buck store for only $2 and decided it wasn’t what I needed so I wasn’t using it. Then I caught one of my guys making a run for it and jumped up and hid inside. Well… I knew instantly that would become their new toy. I put it near their cage, add a fleece blanket inside and there you have it. A new toy. They were all over it, climbing it, hiding in it, cuddling in it… Forget all those expensive pet store toys, look around your home, I bet you have a few hidden gems. The rats will surely appreciate it.

For the last few out times, Benjamin has started this curious little routine with me. I sit down with the rats, he comes and climbs me and waits for his pets. He likes heavy pets and head massages. He doesn’t move a muscle. He sits there, closes his eyes and enjoys our moment. Many rats become very attached to their humans and look forward to simply being together, glowing in each other’s warm energies. It’s like time stands still, just Benji and I… my little lovebug.

Many feeder breeders are using the CO2 method to kill the rats they breed in order to feed their reptiles. The CO2 method can be done in two ways: pre-fill chamber and gradual fill chamber.
I’ve been doing some research and found that feeder breeders have decided that this is a humane method to euthanize their food. IT IS NOT!

There are many studies on going to prove that CO2 either pre-filled or gradual fill is INHUMANE.

A study made by Inez Joanne Makowska proves rats do have an aversion to CO2.

Rats have a very short life span. On average a rat will live to 2 years. They start to get old at around 18 months. But if you do everything right and you’re very lucky, you’ll get your rat to live beyond 2 years. In ideal situations, all my rats live beyond 30 months. I’ve also had a few make it to 38, 39, 41 and even 45 months old. But count your blessings each day your rat makes it past the 24 months mark.
Today, I celebrated Davis’ 3rd birthday. 3 years ago, he was born as part of an accidental litter. I adopted him and his 2 brothers. Rylee had bone cancer and Jorge made to 31 months.
Davis is still going strong, no loss of mobility, good strong appetite and still a lovely boy. He is also neutered which I believe plays a role in longevity.

Davis enjoys his cupcake today.

Yes, you read that right. Rats consume their feces in order to recycle or redigest the nutrients. It’s completely normal. If he’s feeling the need to engage in coprophagia that usually means something is missing from his diet and stopping him is not a good idea.
Although it may completely disgust you, try to remain calm and accepting… and turn away when you see sweet little Rex pick up his poop and eat it.

Some rats are so comfortable they sleep on their backs. These rats are usually laid back and quite happy with life. Their stress levels are low and they get along with most anyone or anyrat. I’ve had a few rats like that. Currently I have Desmond who likes to sleep on his back. Finding your rat in that position is a heart stopping moment. You swear your rat has passed on and not in some deep comfy sleep. We run to the cage, fling it open and grab the limp body and will it to life… no, will it to an awaken state. The rat confused doesn’t realized he just gave his human a heart attack. I’ve grown used to the sleeping habit but for a split second, my heart is in my throat, once I relax, I can enjoy the moment, the sleeping beauty on his back.
Spook is one adorable little guy who loves to sleep on his back. His mom aptly named him. Talk about getting spooked each time you catch him in his favorite position. His mom a member on the Rat Shack (RKbusy) is often posting the wonderful back sleeping pics of Spook and we all can’t get enough of him.

I was certain that Desmond had lost the position. That funny little bully Bronco was now crowned the king. I was wrong. Desmond was devising his plan and waiting to make his move. It happened. Desmond puffed up and straddled over to Bronco and beat the tar out of him. Ok, so in fact, he simply side swiped him and flipped the Bronco. If he would of had a lasso, he would have tied a rope around his neck and claimed victory over the bucking boy. I watched with relief Bronco retreat. He acknowledged Desi as the victor. All the other rats applauded and praised the golden boy. Nobody else but me saw that faint glint of “I’ll get you” in Bronco’s eyes. I am sure the throne will soon be in question again. But until then, I know there will be some peace in the colony because Desi’s number one rule… is all hail and groom the king, especially on his belly. Cause Desi loves his belly kisses.

Yummy popcorn, rats love them too but be careful you give them unsalted and unbuttered. But… this post is not about that kind of popcorn. When a rat is happy he likes to do these little hops and jumps, sometimes they just shake their heads real fast. That’s how you know your rat is super happy and excited. It’s almost the same as a bunny binkie. My favorite kind of popcorn is Rodeo popcorn. It’s sweet and warming. Rats will popcorn when given a treat, when you tickle their heads, when you sit down with them… but Rodeo likes to popcorn simply by coming out of the cage. When he decides to get up and venture out, he starts to randomly popcorn all by himself. You can almost hear the giggles. It really melts my heart when I see such a happy Rodeo.

Sundays are hectic days for me. While trying to give the rats their out time, I’m also juggling with “new week” chores. At 9am, I always let out the oldies first. Their cage stays open for an hour. Most of the time only a couple come out for a stroll. I figure it’s their age and prefer their visits inside the cage which I do oblige. But today, the cage door stayed open for 1.5 hours. And I noticed that after the hour, almost everyone came out for a walkabout. It was wonderful to see even old man Davis come strolling out. He’s almost 36 months old. Julia and Rodeo came out too. Jet is always out as well as Anna Banana. Prue and Minou didn’t feel like it yet again. But… Rodeo was such a happy boy, he started to popcorn all over the place truly enjoying his out time especially when he saw so many of his buddies were out too. It was a great day with my oldies! I’ve added new pics of the oldies in the gallery taken this morning. Enjoy.

Yes, I’m calling them puppies. My young crew, 12 months old now are such a sweet group of puppies. They come to me the minute they sense me near, they climb on me and give me kisses and cuddles.
The last time I had puppies (rats) with such tender and sweet characters was back in mid 2005. My Oshawa rescues were puppies. I often wondered if I would get that particular personality back in my colonies. The Oshawa crew: Felix, Dallas, Andy and Simon were wonderful… they loved belly kisses. I haven’t had a rat love my belly kisses in so long, until now. Sawyer, Desmond and Benjamin actually look forward to the belly kisses. They will climb on me, position themselves, wait for the scoop of the hand, flip and smooch smooch and smooch. I put them down only to have them come right back for more. Then I have Bronco, Fox and Pony my explorers, my hounds. Bronco is everywhere. He is not scared of anything and loves to explore new territory. He’ll run to me for a kiss and back on the grounds, climbing, jumping and leaping through the air without a care where he lands. It’s a sure good thing these 6 boys were here to help guide the Science North boys. I’m sure the SN boys would have been lost to a world of noise and movement if they had not taken their cue from the puppies. The SN boys are much happier, sweeter and softer because of the puppies. They do remain cautious but life is not darkness for them no more.
Here is Ben… dangling without a care in the world, not even asking when I’m done with him. Truly heart rats my puppies.